Aerator for hose type irrigation system

Claim 1

An aerator fitting adapted to be mounted between a pressurized water outlet and an irrigation conduit for introducing atmospheric air into a stream of water, comprising: a sleeve-shaped body member having a passageway therethrough including means at one end adapted for engagement with the outlet and means at the opposite end adapted for engagement with an irrigating conduit; means defining an internal tapered inlet passageway portion in said sleeve having its larger cross-section adjacent said outlet engaging means; means defining a tapered outlet passageway portion in said sleeve in juxtaposition with said conduit engaging means and with its larger cross-section adjacent the end of said sleeve; means defining a central passageway portion intermediate the ends of said sleeve and extending between the narrower ends of said tapered passageways; and means defining tapered air jet inlet passages extending through said sleeve from an external surface thereof and opening into said central passageway, said air jet passages tapering from a relatively larger cross-section adjacent the external surface of said sleeve to a relatively smaller crosssection at said central passageway, for speeding up air flow through said passages into said central passageway; whereby when water under pressure flows through said tapered and intermediate sleeve passageways, jets of atmospheric air drawn through said air jet passages squirt into said water to aerate the same, the air introduced thereby being dissolved and entrapped in said water as said aerated water flows through the irrigation conduit to the outlet thereof.